Vehicle-wheel.



No. 857,629. PATENTED JUNE 25, 1907. R. JONES.

VEHICLE WHEEL. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 15. 190e.

passing over rough roads to cushion the ve ferries;

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nicnian Josas, or sirerrr, meiner-m.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

To et@ whom, it may concern:

Be itknown that i, RICHARD JONES, a citi'- zen of the United States, residing at Bay City, in the county of Bay'and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and use-inl improvements in Vehicle-Wheels; and

i do hereby deciare the following to be a full,

cie-ar, and

Which it ap pertains to make and use the same.

My inventionrelates to a vehicle Wheel,A adapted for any vehicle, one object of which is to provide a mechanism Which Will' yield in hicle body and relieve its tentsfrom shock.'

v The principal object of my invention is to obviate the yuse ai inated tires on vehicles and more espeeiaily motor vehicles, whereby the liability of and disadvantages incurred by punctures are totally avoided. i

occupants or con- Another object is the provision of a simple,

nest. and inexpensive vehicle Wheel which is iight yetstrcing and one Which is easy'running and vby reason of its construction, may not'be easiiy broken.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a' Wheel wherein the v.tire .and

r'elly are relieved oi the strain and stress4 usually yincident thereto, such strain being taken up or absorbed' at the hub of the Wheel.

Elfi

. and. Figs. 2 and 3 are detail crossI sectional struction, the axle being Isurrounded by a,

To these and other ends, my invention consiste in' certain novel features and combina tions of parte together with their equivalents, such as will lbe more fully descrlbed hereniaiter and 'particularly pointed out in the claires.

in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical secti enel View through a Wheel con' structedin accordance With my invention,

views taken at right angles to each other and showingla means forv connecting the collar' Wheel for transmitting motion from one to the other.

.ri indicatesthe axle oit any suitable con skein'(2) between which may be located ball bearings (3) (3), the axlebeing provided With f a :iange (33) against which lthe `hub ottlie Wheel shuts. inis, of course, forms no part ci my invention.

Secured to the opposlte ends of the' skein are the collars (4) and (4a), preferabl facedas (eb) any suitable manner.

ein-

l cellar (a) may be shrunk or otherwise Specification of Letters Patent. Application and Jin@ 15j 190e. serial Np. 321.932.

4 enact description of the invention, such will enable others skilled in the art to `faced as is collar (4).

Patented .inne a5, 1907.

xedly secured on the ,inner end of the skein, the outer collar (4a) being threaded on the outer end of the skeinso that itV may be ref moved, a jam nut (2) retaining thecollar in` 6o position.

A sleeve (5) is mounted on the axle, the sleeve bein of considerablyv larger diameter than the s einv and axle, and having the sockets -'.(6) (6), cast or otherwise, formed 65 thereon to receive the inner rends Aof the A spokes (7) (7)-, the ou ter endsof which spokes (4) (18),jbetvveen which the rings are located, 7*5

Wearing washers (11) being interposedA between the inner faces of the collars and the rings (10) (10), the diameter of the apertures through the rings being considerably larger than the diameter ofthe skein. The skein, '8o i collars, sleeve and rings constitute the hub of theWheel, and rotate on the axle, aI nut (12)! 'being removably secured on the outer end of theaxle to retain thewheel on the axle, the

hub of the Wheel lyingbetween the flange on 35 the aXle and the nutte retain the hub and Wheel against lateral movement, the ring (10,),A y at the outer end of the sleeve 'lying adjacent the outer removable collar (4a), Which is" Between the 'sleeve and skein and confined' .laterally .by the depending ortions of the ringsf(10) (10) are the cus `oning devicesV (13) (13), the -same'consisting of rings prefer#A ably composed of solid rubber, which rings 95 are received on the skein and are recessed or grooved on their inner peripheries as at (14) (14) forming a cushion to absorb shocks and jars. Although I have shown two such cushioning devices, it is obvious that I might em- -IOC- ploy a greater or less number depending upon the length of the hub and the Weight ofthe vehicle and furthermore, thesize of the grooves may be altered accordin to the Weight of the vehic1e,a heavy vehic e recpiir 195 'ing cushions having shallower or smaller grooves than a light vehicle.

. it will be observed that the inner peripheries of the cushioning rings fit the skein closely in view of Whic it; is evident ,that I 110..

have-novided a double cushion comprising the Aerent resilience of the rings and; the

air confined in the grooves of such rings.

The outer peripheries of the rings frictionally engage the sleeve (5) and as the skein, cushioning rings, hub and spokes all rotate, on ballbearings of the axle, it is plain that there is little wear on the cushioning rings so that they will last for a long time. y

The object of cushioning the'wheel and the vehicle against shocks caused by the encountering of rough or stony and uneven roads is thus attained, since theV sleeve, rings and Aspokes are free to move transversely of the axle, owing to the large diameter of the apertures in the end rings, such transverse movement being accomplished against the resilience of the rubber cushioning rings and the air confined in the grooves of such rings, thesleeve and rings sliding easily between but guided by the collars (4) (4a) of the skein, so that all jar and vibration are absorbed and are not transmitted to the vehicle andits occupants or contents. Furthermore, in the common form of vehicle wheel, the shock resulting from the I contact ofthe wheel rim with a stone for instance, is a strain not only on the rim or tire of the wheel, but is transmitted to the-hub, whereas in my construction, there is a yielding of the entire wheel which cushions the shock and relieves the tire and hub of strain. The hub virtually comprises two parts, the rotating skein and the s eeve and rings movable -transversely thereof, there .being no positive connection between vthe. sleeve and skein.

It is obvious that a wheel of this description is applicable to all road vehicles propelled by draft animals and to motor vehicles as well, but in the latter instance, whilel the wheels are capable of use on the idle axle,

' say of such motor vehicles, it becomes necessary to provide some means whereby the to the collar and received in such recess, the

outer end of the stud lying preferably parallel with the face of the collar and passing through an eye (17) secured to the `inner ring the extreme end of the stud being headed as`at (18) to prevent its disengagement from the eye, A coil spring (19) surrounds that portion of the stud between the eye and the elbow for the purposeV of cushioning shocks or jars caused by the passageV of the wheel over rough and stony roads as well asto permit the wheel to yield upwardly when the stud is in a vertical or an approximately vertical position, the recess permitting a movement of the sleeve and rings (10) relative to the stud.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that I have devised an extremely inexpensive, yet highly eflicient device for absorbing shocks and jars which otherwise would injure and weaken the wheel and incommode the occupants of the vehicle. By means of my construction I have materially added to the life of the vehicle wheel and increasedthe smoothness of motion of the vehicle. Furthermore, I have provided a wheel suitable for motor vehicles which can be made at a"vastly less cost than those on the market since I avoid the use of inflated tires, which are a constant source of expense and trouble, and by avoiding the 'use of such tires, wheels manufactured in accordance with my invention can be made larger than the present wheels in usethereby adding to their stability, the collars (4) (4a) and rings (10) (10) preventing any twisting of the wheel and sleeve and. maintaining the wheel true at all times.

It is evident that many changes might be made in the form and arrangements of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction herein set forth.

vHavingthus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim as new, is-

1. The combination with an axle, a skein mounted o n the axle, collars secured to the skein, and a sleeve encircling the skein between the collars, of inwardly 4proj ecting end rings carried by the opposite ends of the sleeve, and a grooved cushioning ring U- shaped'in cross section interposed between the skein and sleeve, the. side edges of the ring resting on the skein and being engaged and braced by the inwardly projecting end rings, the skein operating to close the open face of the groove. v

2. The combination with an axle and a skein rotatable thereon, of collars secured to the skein, a sleeve loosely surrounding the .skein and capable of movement transversely ofv the skein, a cushioning ringv interposed between the skein and sleeve, the sleeve being recessed at its periphery, an eye on the sleeve, a bar secured to the inner collar and passing through the recess in the sleeve and the eye, and aspring on the bar bearing against the eye tohpermit the wheel to move transversely of the axle, and positively connect the sleeve and collar. c

In testimony whereof, Iaffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD JONES. Witnesses:

A. A. EAsTEiiLY, RALPH S. WARFIELD.

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